Faith Without Funding, Values Without Justice
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
ABSTRACT Title of Document: FAITH WITHOUT FUNDING, VALUES WITHOUT JUSTICE: THE BUSH CAMPAIGN’S SUCCESSFUL TARGETING OF AFRICAN AMERICAN EVANGELICAL PASTORS AND CHURCHES IN THE 2004 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION Tamara Wilds Lawson, Ph.D., 2009 Directed By: Professor Sheri Parks, American Studies This dissertation examines the impact of the Black church on electoral politics through an analysis of the role it played during the 2004 presidential election. By examining this particular election, I illustrate both the complexity and political import of the Black church and how neither can be taken for granted by presidential candidates or major political parties seeking to win elections. Paying particular attention to the strategies the Bush campaign and Republican Party used to target a certain segment of the Black church, I focus on faith-based initiatives and same-sex marriage as two specific issues that connected Black churches to the 2004 presidential election in critical ways. I collected data from historical and political texts as well as newspapers and published reports. My interviews with a cross-section of clergy, party operatives and political activists also provided critical information. This dissertation will examine the significance of the role faith-based initiatives and values centered wedge politics played in impacting Black pastors and churches during the countdown to the general election of 2004. The Bush campaign targeted and successfully reached evangelical Black pastors and congregations across the nation by appealing to their conservative moral values. This is significant for two reasons. First, because in expressing their support for President Bush, these Black churches represented a clear departure from the perception that all Black churches support Democratic candidates. They also complicated the notion that African Americans, often thought of as a racial monolith, are politically predictable. Second, because it signaled a shift in Republican presidential campaign outreach strategy from the previous four presidential elections. This study will interrogate whether that strategic shift was grounded in a desire to broaden and diversify the base of the Republican Party. The Bush campaign capitalized on existing relationships with Black churches and pastors, which were cultivated as the administration courted their support during Bush’s first term with promises of faith-based initiative funding. FAITH WITHOUT FUNDING, VALUES WITHOUT JUSTICE: THE BUSH CAMPAIGN’S SUCCESSFUL TARGETING OF AFRICAN AMERICAN EVANGELICAL PASTORS AND CHURCHES IN THE 2004 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION By Tamara Wilds Lawson Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2009 Advisory Committee: Professor Sheri Parks, Chair Professor John L. Caughey Professor Judi Moore Latta Professor Alfred A. Moss, Jr. Professor Ronald W. Walters © Copyright by Tamara Wilds Lawson 2009 Dedication This dissertation is written in honor of the educators in my family: Dr. David Abner, III Lalanya Abner Cora Masters Barry Harry Lawson, Jr. Sandra A. Lawson Dr. Isabell A. Masters Moses A. Wilds, Sr. Rodney H. Wilds, Sr. Rosa B. Wilds It is inspired by courageous Black preachers who have touched my life: Bishop Thomas Masters Rev. Tom Skinner Dr. Christine Y. Wiley Dr. Dennis W. Wiley Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner Rev. Willie F. Wilson It is lovingly dedicated to: Jonathan Poullard …who has transformed personal pain into a beautiful life full of powerful love for himself and others. In Memory of: Jamal Malik Chandler …whose struggle to fully embrace his authentic self took him away too soon. ii Acknowledgements This dissertation marks the end of an important chapter in my academic career. Consequently, it is imperative that I acknowledge those people without whom I would not have made it to this point. First, I must thank Dr. Sheri Parks, my Master’s Thesis and Dissertation advisor. I will always be grateful for her guidance, counsel, protection and generosity throughout my time at the University of Maryland, College Park. I would also like to thank Mrs. Valerie Brown, a valuable presence in the Department of American Studies who took care of me in ways large and small throughout my graduate studies. I am so thankful that two established scholars, Dr. Julianne Malveaux and Dr. Ronald W. Walters, had faith in my potential and challenged me to stay focused on my academic pursuits. They, along with mentor-cheerleaders including Alexis M. Herman, Constance Berry Newman and Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner, invested a great deal of time and energy in me and I am humbled by their generosity. I would also like to thank Dr. Betty Shabazz and Dr. Vanessa J. Weaver-Coleman with whom I had brief but transformational experiences that helped me believe I could accomplish such a lofty goal. Without question, my family has been my most consistent and invaluable source of support. My mother, Cora Masters Barry, a dynamic political science professor for over twenty years, sowed the seeds of interest in academia early in my life. She also celebrated my achievements and made significant material contributions including two laptops, which made my life as a graduate student much easier to navigate. My father, Moses A. Wilds, Jr., an excellent writer and communicator, iii passed those skills to me through years of priceless dialogue and exchange. During my doctoral studies, he provided constant positive reinforcement, financial support and the blessing of significantly subsidized housing. I will be forever grateful to both of them for their unconditional love and belief in me. My sister Lalanya and brother Rodney are the best siblings on earth and have looked after me and kept me laughing over the years. My fearless grandmother, Dr. Isabell A. Masters, motivated me and validated my desire to attain a Ph.D. by placing such great value on education and excellence. My Aunt Cookie, Auntie Lillie and Cousin Janice have always shown genuine interest in my progress and prayed for my success which I appreciate more than they know. Most significantly, I would not have made it through the last leg of graduate school or writing my dissertation without my adoring, loving, patient, protective and generous husband, Harry Lawson, Jr. His unflinching support throughout this intense process reinforced my love for him and appreciation of our marriage. He is my best friend and I am so excited to experience our life together beyond this milestone. Finally, I would be remiss not to mention some of my extended family of close friends who over the years have buoyed my spirits and assumed I would succeed in my graduate studies before I believed I could. They include: Rebecca Gitenstein Bierlink, Rachel Bauer Hall, Hylan T. Hubbard, IV, Deana Holiday Ingraham, Phyllis Jeffers-Coly, Rashida Johnson, Michon Lartigue, Dr. C. Nicole Mason, Yvette Ross, Dr. Benjamin Talton and Cheryl L. Williams. Special thanks to Phyllis Jeffers-Coly for her constructive criticism and Michon Lartigue and Yvette Ross for their thorough copy editing. iv I am overwhelmed with appreciation for everyone named here and many who are not. To God be the glory! v Table of Contents Dedication ..................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents ......................................................................................................... vi Chapter One: Introduction ............................................................................................ 1 Intersections: Race, Class, Culture and Sexual Orientation ................................... 14 Ethnographic Interviews ......................................................................................... 16 Chapters .................................................................................................................. 23 Original Contribution .............................................................................................. 27 Challenges ............................................................................................................... 27 Chapter Two: “The Black Church”............................................................................. 30 Dialectics and Denominations ................................................................................ 32 African American Evangelicals & Megachurches .................................................. 43 The Black Church and Presidential Politics: A Brief History ................................ 52 Current Trends in Black Church Political Activism and Participation ................... 59 Chapter Three: The 2004 Bush Re-Election Campaign ............................................. 68 President George W. Bush ...................................................................................... 69 The Bush Re-election Master Plan ......................................................................... 73 Black Evangelical Outreach .................................................................................... 78 Senator John F. Kerry ............................................................................................. 86 The Kerry Campaign: Missteps and Lost Opportunities ........................................ 89 How Bush Won: The